The pleasure of being terribly deceived!
by Shalini2808
Summary: Harvey was so used to being the 'smartest guy in the room' that he did not know what being outsmarted felt like. But it sure as hell was not supposed to be a happy feeling! Then why did his heart leap from joy every time a certain Mike Ross fooled him? Did this mean trouble for the sworn bachelor that he was? AU. Mostly all characters appear, focus on Marvey!
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: I categorized this under humor and romance but I believe no romance is complete without some amount of hurt/comfort. But that's not going to happen for a few more chapters. Please let me know if you like the plot and want me to continue. Cheers!_

Chapter 1

Jessica Pearson walked tall across the office of Pearson-Hardman and stopped a few steps before the conference room where the senior-partners' meeting was about to take place. She walked tall because she always walked tall. And she felt even taller when her eyes fell on Harvey, seated comfortably at the head of the long table, looking amused and bored at the same time. Yes, she gave herself credit for the phenomenal lawyer that this man had turned into.

"Look at that! He did not make a run for it this time!" exclaimed Donna eyeing Harvey through the glass as she came and stood beside Jessica.

"Yes and we both know what _that_ means." Jessica raised her eyebrows and gave her a questioning look, "What does he have on his mind this time?"

"Oh you have _no_ idea! And why should I spoil the fun for you?!" Donna winked and then sighed dramatically "The things your wonder boy puts you through!"

When Donna spoke, Jessica listened; not for the touch of drama or sarcasm that quoted her words but for the vibe that her voice conveyed. Donna knew practically everything that went on in the firm. So if the managing-partner of the most successful law firm in the city wanted to know how her world was doing, all she had to do was be perceptive to Donna's remarks.

"The breezy manner in which you speak today means all is well with the world. In fact it may be rosier on the edges than usual." Jessica smiled at her and entered the conference room. She took on the persona of a queen ready to discuss the fate of her kingdom with her council of ministers.

The meeting was long and tedious. Harvey was the only one who remained unflustered by the amount of work they had to do in the coming week. His calm confidence and self-assuredness always set him apart and above all other partners of the firm.

"And now is your time. Make it short." Jessica turned expectantly to Harvey the moment everyone else had left the room.

"How did you know I wanted to talk about something?" He asked, knowing perfectly well how she knew.

"Because you make a dash for your office every time I am late to a meeting and you sit there tight till you are summoned back as the high-headed prince of the kingdom!" she smiled at Harvey and found him smirking as usual. "But today you waited here for _twenty_ minutes without throwing your weight around."

"Now since you have already accepted that I am the prince of your kingdom, tell me what I need to do to get my name on the door?" he asked casually "You know other than making millions of money for the firm and roping in giant clients."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "You know I don't take well to bragging Harvey! And you also know that you will make name partner eventually. So why bring it up now?"

"It's not bragging if it's true. And who knows how long is _eventually!_ I want it now." asserted Harvey.

"Okay Harvey listen to me. It doesn't matter if you are self-centered, arrogant, cocky and self-praising as a senior partner. But you cannot be like that as a name partner. Moreover you will have to position yourself as a visionary for the firm. You cannot just focus on how much money you make but also on how much others' do and how you can help them double it. You need to shrug off the nonchalance that is embedded in your personality and start caring about other employees. You need to provide mentorship to young associates who will be valuable to the firm later on. So _eventually_ is when you are up for doing all that Harvey Specter is not about!"

"Harvey a Mr. Carter is waiting to see you and he is close to tears." said Donna bursting into the conference room.

"And what kind of sight is that?" he asked in all seriousness.

"Now behave Harvey!" warned Jessica. "I assume you are going with him to meet his father. Make sure he doesn't fight his way into trial. We need to settle on this case, going to trial might mean losing his entire stake in the business!"

"Have you forgotten that the L word doesn't exist in my dictionary?" Harvey got up and buttoned his coat.

"This isn't over." he mouthed staring Jessica in the eye before leaving.

On the way he filled Donna on the specifics of the case. "Mr Carter junior is our client and Mr. Carter senior owns the longest chain of schools for the deaf and dumb in the country. He may be a great philanthropist but his business acumen is nil. So when his son challenged his expansion strategy he threatened to cut him out completely, leading him to run to us.."

"And cry his heart out.." finished Donna. "Why does Jessica think he will fight his way into trial instead of settling peacefully?"

"Because he is a lot like Louis."

"Alright Harvey I may have to use contact lenses at times but I swear on my skimmed milk caramel coffee he doesn't look anything like a confounded rabbit!"

"I meant that he lets his emotions get the better of him!" explained Harvey shaking his head at his secretary. Thank god she wasn't boring like other secretaries and had a sense of humor. 

Mr. Carter junior turned out to be a bigger cry baby than any of them had anticipated and Harvey began wondering if offering to ride together was a wise decision. Ray, however, was in no doubt that it was a stupid decision. He had been Harvey's chauffeur for ten years and had never been so disgusted with his choice of traveling companion. When Mr. Carter whimpered again, he swore to call in sick the next time Harvey had to ride with him.

"Joe seriously! enough now." said Harvey slightly annoyed. "We will fix this. Just make sure you don't anger the old man. We will convince him for peaceful negotiation."

"Oh he won't negotiate. You should have heard him Harvey! He will demand to take this thing to trial and not let me get a penny out of him!" Joe blew his nose hard.

"That's exactly why I am coming with you.. Come on Ray tell him!" They often did this when Harvey had to calm down a client but Ray was in no mood to humor him right now. "Ray?"

Oh very well! "Mr Carter you should know that Mr. Specter is a genius. He is always the smartest guy in the room. Trust me he can talk his way out of anything!"

Joe seemed stable by the time they reached their destination. "God this school building needs maintenance!" exclaimed Harvey scanning the building.

"Exactly what I told Dad. But no he would rather spend his money on modern technology that he knows nothing about! Anyway Harvey, he would be here in fifteen minutes. You can look around till then. I will go and talk to the staff. They are still loyal to me. Maybe some of them can cough up information that we could use."

"Great idea Joe! Call me when he is here."

Harvey decided to see the classrooms and their dismal condition before reprimanding the old man on maintenance. He was half way through the corridor when he thought he heard footsteps behind him. He looked around to find no one. Strange!

He continued walking and could still hear the sound of feet closely following him. This time he was better prepared.

"Aha!" he exclaimed loudly as he turned on his heels in a sudden movement. His follower jumped in surprise staggering backwards. Harvey caught him by the arm to break his fall and found himself staring into a pair of innocent blue eyes.

"What do you think you are doing?" he asked steadying the young man before him. The young man just stared at him with his big round eyes, his mouth slightly open. He looked no more than twenty!

"Why were you following me, kid?" Harvey noticed how he stared at his lips and nodded his head with every word. Oh so he was lip reading! Must be a student! Harvey's lawyer-self jumped at the opportunity.

"Do you mind if I asked you few questions, kid? You could just nod. Do you like the current condition of your classrooms?" Was this really going to be of any use?

The boy shrugged, causing his over-sized white shirt to fall off one shoulder. God! The school should buy students clothes their size.

He scanned Harvey from head to toe and the transfixed his gaze at a point in his suit. His face then broke into a brilliant smile etching laughter lines on his handsome face.

No this was going to be of no use. "If you are done checking me out, I would like to be on my way." Harvey smiled to be polite and turned to leave but the boy tugged at his arm excitedly.

"What? Hey where are you taking me?" The boy turned a corner and motioned him inside a door. Oh it was a classroom! Smart kid!

It was a pretty ordinary classroom and Harvey saw what he had expected to see. So he turned to leave but the kid danced around him like an excited puppy, pointing at paintings on the walls, pulling him towards the white board, opening drawers for him to peep into.

"Okay okay I got it. Thank you for all the help. I have to go now. I'm a very busy man!"

The boy nodded like he understood. He mimicked a gun with hands and turned from side to side in dramatic stances. He then looked at Harvey and mouthed something.

"No not as busy as James Bond." laughed Harvey. So that's where the suit-fascination came from. Poor kid! Only seen people wearing suits in movies! If only he had known anything about the world of lawyers!

The boy gasped like he remembered something. He pointed towards a broken tile. Harvey rolled his eyes. "Okay I will get that fixed too."

"Noooooo!" The kid mouthed shaking his head. He crouched on the floor and moved the tile revealing loads of paper balls and other junk stashed under.

"So that's where you kids hide your stuff!"

He pulled a waste paper basket from the corner and pointed towards the balls. He then made puppy eyes at Harvey like he was begging him to play.

"What! No way. We can't have a paper ball tournament here!" This was getting absurd now.

The boy looked eager, angry, hurt, disappointed and bored, all in quick succession. Harvey had never seen such an interesting play of expressions on anyone's face before. But then again the poor kid didn't really have many options of expressing himself!

"Okay." Harvey sighed "Only ten throws!" Joe had not called yet so he had time to kill.

The boy was quick at his feet and aimed well but not as good as Harvey. It was great fun to see him pout when he missed and smirk when he scored. He was skinny and had messy blond hair. Donna would have found him insanely cute! Harvey let him win. This was something he never did, not even while playing with kids but he was scared that the kid would make him play another round if he lost.

"Congratulations and good bye now!" said Harvey. The boy stretched his hand and smiled as Harvey shook it. They left the room together and he ran down the stairs with one last look at Harvey. His expression seemed odd. It was one of triumph but not the kind you get after winning at a stupid game of paper-balls.

Harvey shrugged and turned into the corridor. He saw Joe storming down from the opposite end. "We are going to trial" he cried. "And I am glad we are! You won't imagine the horrible things he said!"

"YOU MET HIM WITHOUT ME!" yelled Harvey. "Why do you think I came with you! To stop you from doing something stupid! WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL ME!" He could punch his face right now!

"He was already here when we arrived. I called you so many times! Your phone was switched off!" said Joe fighting a huge vale of tears.

"What!" Harvey fished his cellphone from his coat pocket. It was switched off. How did that happen?

"God! That student I was with.. he must have.. when he dancing around me.. but why…"

"What are you talking about? What student? The school has been closed for students for a month now Harvey! It's the summer break. It's only open for faculty and staff members."

What! Joe's phone rang. He answered it and then held it to Harvey. "It's Donna."

"Harvey I tried your no. but it was switched off." said Donna. "Travis Tanner called Jessica. He is the lawyer at the other end. He seemed to think you were going to trial and laughed when Jessica said you weren't. So I got worried and wondered if he sent someone to hold you off the meeting!"

"Harvey.. are you listening? Did he send goons?" _A_ _harmless looking boy!_

"Did someone engage you in a sob story?" _Fake stories can't engage Harvey!_ _Paper-ball tournaments could apparently!_

"Harvey…" Ray's voice boomed in his head.. _genius.. smartest person in the room.. can talk his way out of anything.._ Yes that was Harvey Specter! And no one could fool him like this! _That wretched kid!_

"Harvey are you alright?"

"Donna" he finally breathed into the phone and said through gritted teeth "I might just kill someone when I find him!" 


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note : Hi Guys! Thank you for following/reviewing the story. Just to refresh your memory—Chapter 1 highlights:**

 **Harvey wants his name on the door but Jessica feels he isn't ready yet.**

 **Harvey messes up a case as a blond boy distracts him with his antics that are cute and misleading enough to hold him off an important meeting.**

 **I am here with the second chapter and would love to know your thoughts on it. Happy reading! :D**

* * *

"Harvey!"

"Harvey I am talking to you!"

"No Louis what you are doing is called growling and I don't respond to that kind of behavior." Harvey was seated on a couch in Jessica's office, his cool confidence exasperating Louis in every sense of the word.

No one who saw him now could have guessed that little more than an hour ago Harvey had been immensely embarrassed to realize that he had been naive enough to be fooled by a young man. The reason he was back to being mighty pleased with himself was that he had already appointed his best undercover city-spy looking into Travis Taner and the stage actor whom he had hired to fool him.

"Don't you dare sit there looking like you haven't disgraced the firm. You messed up big time!" yelled Louis. "Why aren't you saying anything to him?" He looked accusingly at Jessica.

"Because she knows that it wasn't my fault and I will still win the case in court." said Harvey casually. He was bored by now. Louis never failed to attack him whenever he made a mistake. Correction. Whenever it looked like he had made a mistake.

"I have had enough!" hissed Jessica "You guys make me feel like a hassled mother trying to reason out with her stubborn, incorrigible kids."

"Are you calling me incorrigible or stubborn?" asked Louis.

"I am telling you," said Jessica raising her voice, "That I did not have kids of my own for a reason! So I will not let the two of you push me around. Get out of my office and for god's sake grow up!"

Louis left like a wounded warrior and Harvey walked out with uplifted spirits. He rolled his eyes the moment he entered his office.

"Donna what are you doing inside?"

"Oh you know perfectly well that I'm here to embarrass you about what happened this morning!" she laughed. "It kills me every time I imagine your face." Donna had finally got something new to tease Harvey about, all thanks to the blue-eyed boy.

"Enough. Just because you are the only one who knows what happened doesn't mean you get to torment me. And you would be pleased to hear that I am not annoyed anymore. In fact I am going to change this into a win."

"Oh really! How?" asked Donna.

"First by beating Travis Taner in court and second by stealing his apprentice."

Donna frowned and looked confused.

"Oh god Donna why don't you use the lawyer-brain you always claim to have acquired over the years?" he asked sarcastically. "Isn't it obvious that the boy had been paid off by Taner to pull that trick on me? I just need to find that kid and scare the shit out of him by pointing out all the charges I can press on him! And by exaggerating the consequences. Then when he pleads me to spare him I shall agree but on my own conditions. So you see, he drops from the people-who-mess-with-me category and makes it straight to the people-who-owe-me category."

"Harvey you get people to owe you all the time! So what's really going to make this a win?"

"The fact that he is a smart kid! Donna he fooled _me, me!_ Imagine how useful he could be in few cases. Never hurts to have someone smart owe you one."

"I just don't think it will be as simple as it sounds," shrugged Donna.

"Why? Whose side are you on?"

"On yours of course. But Harvey you can't deny that simple is boring. And judging by what happened this morning, this kid seems anything but boring." She smiled her characteristic Donna smile and went back to her desk leaving Harvey to wonder if indeed it was going to be as simple as he thought.

* * *

Harvey left his office in the evening to meet Kate at a book stall three blocks away. Kate was attractive and pleasant but her best asset was her observational skills that had made her the most sought after spy in corporate circles.

"He is a lawyer," she mumbled without looking up from the magazine that she was reading as Harvey came and stood beside her. He picked up a book and pretended to read the back-cover while speaking. "So after five hours of research you come up with the fact that Travis Taner is a lawyer. You might want to consider retiring soon."

"I wasn't talking about Taner but the boy who works for him."

"What!" Harvey had to catch the book from slipping out of his hands. Donna would be thrilled to know that she was right about his plan not working. But he was Harvey Specter. It was only a matter of time before he came out with a new game plan.

"He is not a kid either," continued Kate, "He is 24. His name is Michael Ross. He works as an associate under Taner."

"He is eight years younger to me which means he is a kid," said Harvey.

"But he thinks of himself exactly what you thought of yourself when you were his age," she quipped, "which means that he is a self-praising, arrogant lawyer who thinks he can get his way with everything."

"And what do you think?" asked Harvey sensing that there was more to Kate's remark.

"I think over-confidence kills," she said looking up at Harvey and holding up something for him. That's when he realized that it wasn't a magazine but a file that she had been reading. He took it from her hand and raised his eyebrows as he read the contents.

"Don't look so surprised," Kate smirked, "He forgot it on the table when he was at dinner with his client. I had nicked it by the time he came back looking for it. It took me only a second to figure out that it helps you win the case."

"What?" she asked, amazed at how Harvey simply looked at her and smiled like he was enjoying some inside joke. Wasn't he supposed to be impressed with her and hike her commission?

"You were right," he finally said. "Over-confidence does kill. Kate, you should definitely consider retiring."

He smiled to himself as he got into his car and texted the second best in his spy network.

 _I will give you a name and I want to know where he will be in an hour's time. Michael Ross, age 24, blond, blue eyes, has a mischievous grin and walks with swag._

It did not surprise Harvey how confident he was about the last two details. Either he had read the boy really well this morning without realizing it until now or he had a very good memory of what he had been like eight years ago.

* * *

When Harvey stepped into the pub all eyes turned to him. The crowd mostly consisted of youngsters and probably new office-goers and none of them wore a three-piece tailored suit to the evening hangout. Avoiding all the attention that he and his suit had attracted he looked around for familiar golden hair and found it atop a small head visible next to the bar. As the crowd parted he saw that the young man was wearing a maroon t-shirt over blue denims, happily chugging beer and chatting away animatedly on the phone.

"Nice to hear your voice finally!" said Harvey taking the high-chair next to him. The boy coughed and spilled beer on the table. He mumbled something on the phone hastily and disconnected.

"You want me to call you Michael or Mike is fine?" Harvey asked not surprised by the dramatic effect his sudden appearance had caused.

"Mike is fine," said the boy after having taken a moment to recover from the shock of finding Harvey next to him. "I knew you would somehow find me Mr. Specter but I didn't know it would be this soon," he admitted. "You know you are kind of old for a hang out place like this!" His eyes twinkled in a way that reminded Harvey of his antics in the morning.

"And you are far too young to try and fool me for the second time on the same day!" said Harvey dumping the file on the table.

"Hey that's the file I lost today!" shouted Mike looking shocked and worried.

"Shut up and drop the act. You didn't lose it. You left it for Kate."

"What? Really Mr. Specter!" he sighed shaking his head. "The contents of this file is the key to proving that Mr. Carter senior is a lousy business man and that the school is in urgent need of maintenance. In short this wins you your case. You think I will leave something this important on the table for some woman to take it to you?"

"No I think you won't forget something like this on a table at all unless you wanted to."

"You are crazy Mr. Specter."

"No. I'm a genius. I read people and once I do that I know what they are capable of," said Harvey casually, signaling the bartender for a drink.

"And when exactly did you read me? During my Oscar-worthy performance this morning?" asked Mike trying to look innocent.

"No during your momentary slip from character when you gave a triumphant smile before leaving."

Mike watched silently as Harvey gulped down his scotch. He had come to learn the eat-or-get-eaten rule of the world the hard way and had always used his wit and sarcasm as a defense against being swallowed whole by the likes of Travis Taner and Harvey Specter; but this conversation was definitely not going well for him and he wondered what bomb Harvey was about to drop.

"Since you are not going to admit anything let me tell you what I think," said Harvey, "I think as much as you want to become a bad-ass lawyer you really are a pussy. You know that cutting Joe out of the school's management means that the school shuts down within a year. Even though he is over-sensitive he has what it needs to bring a business like efficiency to his father's philanthropic initiatives which in the end will benefit children who can change their lives around given proper training and opportunities. But you couldn't tell that to Taner as he would have told you that what happened to the school or its children after he won the case was none of his business. So when you realized I was having you followed you planted the file right under Kate's nose." He paused to smile at Mike and then continued in a voice lower than before, "And if you are going behind his back now then you have definitely done this before in his previous cases. You go behind his back and assist the other side in some obscure way whenever you think he is on the wrong side."

"I don't understand what you are talking about," said Mike shaking his head, "It was my job to hold you off the meeting today."

"Yes and you gladly did it because settling would not have ensured Joe's inclusion in the schools' management."

Harvey thought his final words had the flair of a grand finish that would make Mike surrender but Mike just stared at him in silence. And then the strangest thing happened. His feet started tapping nervously while his expression remained calm and confident. In fact his face grew more determined by the second while his knees started shaking badly. It was the most amusing thing Harvey had ever seen and he could no longer keep a straight face.

"What are you doing?" He burst out laughing and couldn't stop for a long time.

Mike finally sighed in defeat. "I thought if I kept looking at you with confidence you would start doubting your own words."

"And you were concentrating so much on your face you forgot that the lower half of you was panicking?" asked Harvey still trying to control the fit of laughter.

"Actually the whole of me is panicking," confessed Mike "but I could only control my face. I guess I'm not good at multitasking." He suddenly looked a lot younger than he was. In fact he resembled a hapless teenager who suddenly found himself in a tight spot and did not know how to get out of it.

"Don't panic. I'm not going to tell Taner," said Harvey wiping the corners of his eyes that had started watering from laughing so hard.

"What? Then why did you take the trouble to figure all that out of you don't plan to blackmail me with it?" asked Mike.

"I did plan to blackmail you, but you deceiving Kate blew my mind. She's the most intelligent.."

"If you think she's the most intelligent then sorry to say Mr. Specter you have a crappy team of spies working for you. You should fire her immediately," said Mike easing up a little. "At one point of time I even got her thinking that I was checking her out, you know just to amuse myself." He grinned.

"Are you trying to tell me you weren't?" asked Harvey, "She is pretty hot."

"I couldn't care less Mr. Specter. I'm gay. Wait a minute did you not realize that till now? And I thought read people!"

"Yeah their psychology not their sexuality. And you took the risk of pulling my leg when you know I can get you fired."

"All I know is that I blew your mind," smiled Mike.

"A moment ago were panicking and now you are being cocky."

"Well what can I say I adapt really well to changing situations. Okay Mr. Specter if you had your fun and are done gloating on the fact that you got me and that I owe you one for not going to my boss with my secret, I really need to get home."

"Call me Harvey," said Harvey extending his hand. Mike shook his hand and smiled.

"It was nice to meet you Harvey, twice in day."

Mike had just walked a few steps when Harvey called out his name again.

"Mike, just one more question. If you don't like working for Taner why do you do it anyway?"

Mike laughed. "What came first the egg or the hen?"

"Is that supposed to answer my question?" laughed Harvey "It makes no sense."

"Not until you think about it. Goodnight Harvey."

Harvey had two more drinks after Mike left. It had been an interesting day and Mike Ross was an interesting character. In Donna's words ' _anything but boring_.'

* * *

 **Thank you for reading. Hope you liked the chapter. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys sorry for the delay! Had an unusually busy week. I managed to watch the season finale though and loved every bit of it. Those who haven't watched it yet please sit with a box of tissues whenever you do. Happy reading and please drop a review if you like the chapter :)**

* * *

Chapter 3

A week had gone by since Harvey had met Mike at the bar and it had been a terrific week on all fronts. He had won the case against Mr. Carter Senior and was thus one up on Travis Taner. Joe was so elated with his win that he had given a long interview to a leading business magazine on why he thought Harvey Specter to be an angel of an attorney sent to help people in distress, a statement that had everyone who knew Harvey rolling with laughter. The business community, well aware of Joe's emotional spurts, did not buy that Harvey was a social savior but could read between the lines to know that he was the best lawyer New York had seen in recent years and probably the future of Pearson-Hardman.

People at the firm had a lot to say about his win too. While Louis was convinced that it had been a fluke and would go on about it to anyone who cared to listen, Donna believed that it was her pre-trial secret ritual with Harvey that had ensured his win and liked to remind him of her indispensability in his life several times in a day. Jessica gloated on the publicity her firm had garnered but continued to dodge the topic of making him name partner on the pretext that he still hadn't shown her a different side to him, a side that cared about greater things than winning cases and making money.

"I cared a lot about the school and the children…" drawled Harvey. By now he had accepted that he had a lot of proving-himself-to-Jessica to do before making name partner. Least they could do now was have a good laugh about it.

"Oh shut up Harvey!" She laughed, "All you cared about was beating Taner."

"And look where it got us!" he smirked.

They both laughed and then a moment passed when they looked at each other, their gaze acknowledging what was unsaid between them. She knew that he cared, that there was a softer side to his larger-than-life persona but Harvey had to demolish his self-constructed image and show this side to the world before she could make him name partner. Harvey, on the other hand had no intention of doing that. "You let them know you care, and they walk all over you," he had once told Jessica and still abided by that philosophy. That was one childhood lesson that he was never going to forget.

"You know I wanted to ask you how you knew that Taner had something on Joe?" asked Jessica changing the subject in their minds.

"I just assumed he did. He wouldn't have been so eager to take this thing to trial if he wasn't confident he could win. That got me thinking if he had something to prove Joe incapable of doing business. When I asked Joe he told me all about the time he got emotionally blackmailed into making a bad decision which he later rectified."

"And then all you had to do was render their argument void by proving how that was a completely different scenario and how the school was degenerating under his Dad's care," finished Jessica.

"Yes." said Harvey well aware of the fact that he had a certain Mike Ross to thank for the latter part of his winning strategy. He could have figured out something on his own but Mike's evidence had made his work a lot easier and faster. In fact he wondered if the boy could turn out to be of greater help to him in future. He was definitely a resource worth tapping into and now that the excitement over the case had died down it was probably a good time to meet him again.

"Did you hear what Louis is doing?" asked Jessica.

"Telling people that I rigged the Jury?"

"Haha he's doing more than that Harvey. He thinks it absurd that you should be advocating the importance of infrastructure in effective teaching when you haven't taught or guided a single soul in your career. He claims that you don't even know the name of any associate in the firm. He has been betting on it and has already made quite a lot of money."

"Is that why random strangers have been coming up to me and engaging me in stupid conversations, to see if I remember their names?" The whole thing amused him greatly. Louis was so possessive of his associates that he never allowed them to run to Harvey for anything unless it was crucial. So this time he really had to come out of his comfort zone to bug Harvey.

"Laugh all you want Harvey but this little joke of his spoils your image in the eyes of the other partners. Believe it or not, mentoring someone, passing on knowledge and experience is seen as a trait of good leadership. Do not let them think that you don't have it in you to be a mentor to someone."

He rolled his eyes at Jessica. "Fine I will have Donna see to it that Louis stops whatever he is doing. And now if you don't mind, I have to go see a friend," he said smiling at the prospect.

* * *

Mike Ross loved wearing suits, especially the very fine ones that made him look like hot property, actually hot and rich property, and he loved it because of the false impression that it created on people. He was used to faking charm and confidence right since his teenage years, when he had awakened to the feeling that he was a natural at neither. What he really had was a genius brain, one that helped him look the parts that he needed to play to get his way in life. So what if that required renting suits once in a while? He was midway through counting the number of years it would take him to afford a wardrobe of branded suits when a voice from behind made him jump.

"Is this another strategy of yours?" asked Harvey, his voice laden with obvious amusement, "To dress like a clown on purpose so that Taner loses his clients?"

"Why are you still following me around?" asked Mike quickly covering the little the distance between them. He was offended and annoyed by the sudden appearance. If Harvey kept on following him like that he would soon have enough information on him to have him fired, sued, thrown out of the country or burned alive by goons. "We cannot be seen together. Travis will fire me. And for your information this is the best suit I have ever re.. had," he finished still frowning.

"Relax," said Harvey enjoying Mike's plight, "I am just here to thank you. And if you had been more welcoming I might have gotten you a better suit as a thank you gift. And talking of risks you think it isn't risky for me to be seen at a bus stop? Do you have any idea what this could do to my reputation?"

"Was this really worth taking the risk? What difference does your thank you make anyway?" Mike looked determined not to smile.

"Not much. But I also wanted to tell you that I solved your riddle!" Harvey smiled proudly while Mike looked confused. "You don't remember? The hen.. the egg.. what came first?"

Mike rolled his eyes. "You really came here to brag about that."

"No I came here to tell you that you were both right and wrong," said Harvey. "You were right in implying that it doesn't matter what came first, the egg or the hen, because that knowledge will not change the way the world works. But I knowing why you work for Taner will make a difference. So that was a horrible analogy."

"Why don't you just tell me what you really want from me and get the hell out of here?" said Mike looking over his shoulder.

"Can you relax?" laughed Harvey "There's no way Taner is going to turn up at a bus stop."

"How do you know that?"

"Just like I know that you usually ride a bike to your office but today you want to take a bus because you hurt your leg chasing a car last night."

Mike's eyes grew wide and he flushed with anger. "Look Harvey this is getting too much. We parted on good terms last week. Why are you still having me spied on?"

"I am not. Kate wants to make up to me so bad that she's doing it on her own. I told her that she should retire from her service after you fooled her and now she wants to get me something on you that will make me take back my words."

"Well then take back your words!" shouted Mike stressing on each word.

"Why? What's the fun in that?!"

When Mike didn't laugh Harvey sighed. "Okay I do want something from you. And I am teasing you only because it is taking my mind off the fact that you can and probably will say no."

He frowned when Mike's face broke into a smile. "Seriously? Out of everything you chose to smile at my honest confession?"

"Since you are not used to being honest about your feelings," said Mike sitting down on the bench, "you don't know the kind of effect that it can have on people." He smiled "So what can I do for you?"

"How about we discuss it over dinner tonight?" proposed Harvey.

"What? NO!" Mike jumped up and looked horrified for a second. "Promise me you are not going to track down my whereabouts tonight. Please.. I.. I have a date tonight. His name is Trevor. We grew up together and it's a complicated friendship right now. So.. so it is an important date. Please don't ruin it for us.."

"Okay okay.. some other day then." said Harvey.

Mike seemed relieved when the bus arrived. "I guess you have my number already. Drop me a text and then we can decide where to meet." He jumped into the bus before Harvey could say anything.

Harvey frowned as the bus sped away. Mike really did not have to tell him so much about his date to convince him to stay away. He definitely overdid it, which meant that he was lying.

"How am I supposed to leave him alone if he keeps getting me curious about his stupid life!" he thought heading back to his office.

He cringed as Ray parked in front of a shady club-house eight hours later. This was not where he would have expected Mike to be that night, or on any night for that matter. But his source was sure that this would be the place.

"Why would any sane person let alone a lawyer come to a club like this Ray?" he asked.

"Not everyone can afford the better places I guess," said Ray. He thought of all the five-star hotels and classy clubs that he drove Harvey to and wondered what part of the city's population could actually afford frequenting those places.

"You don't need to be rich to have a better choice of a hang-out place. You just need to not be an idiot. And from what I know Mike Ross is not an idiot."

"They are all idiots in love.." said Ray laughing.

"What?" Harvey followed Ray's gaze and saw two men at a distance. They seemed to be in an intense conversation. One of them as Mike. The other was just as tall and had jet black hair.

He waited for the men to enter the club before getting out of his car entering behind them. They had occupied the farthest table in the room. He contemplated for a moment and then walked up to their table.

"You have a funny choice of place for your dates, Mike." He took a seat and looked around with distaste. "Does he bring you here every time?" he asked the person he thought to be Trevor. Trevor stared at him blankly before looking at Mike in annoyance. He was clearly not in the mood for surprise visitors.

"What are you doing here Harvey? I told you not to follow me." Mike said through gritted teeth.

Trevor raised his eyebrows at the word 'follow' and Mike pretended not to notice. He didn't want Harvey to suspect any funny business. Why did he have to be here anyway? Like they weren't in enough trouble already!

"You know it would have been good manners to introduce me to your friend first."

"Harvey just leave us alone." "Please" he added sensing that Harvey wasn't likely to budge.

"I will if you tell me what's going on." said Harvey looking at him calmly.

"Nothing is going on," snapped Trevor, "Who do you think you are? Imposing your presence on us... whatever business you have with Mike.. you can settle that later.. we really came here for a little bit of privacy, you.. you interfering.. you.."

But Harvey only looked at Mike ignoring Trevor's rant.

After a minute or two Mike sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He gestured Trevor to stop talking and said in a mechanical voice, "Trevor was forced to drop a briefcase full of shady stuff to a shady dealer and he messed up. So now they want our heads on a spike and we are here to convince them that it is a bad idea." he finished and shrugged at Harvey who looked at him with an amused expression.

"You mean I am actually interrupting your date, sorry double date," he said glancing at Trevor, "with drug mafias?"

"Yes." replied Mike. He gulped and looked away.

Harvey started laughing at the absurdity of the situation and Trevor looked at him like he suspected him to be insane. Suddenly there was a funny rackety noise accompanying Harvey's laughter. It sounded like someone was tap-dancing.

"Mike, is that your feet shaking under the table again?"

But Mike wasn't paying attention. He was looking over Harvey's shoulder at the two men who had just entered the club.


	4. Chapter 4

Since the time Mike remembered his life had been swiveling between being tragic and comical but never before had it taken such a sharp turn from one to another. What he had supposed to be lengthy negotiations with each party trying to outsmart the other was reduced to a ten minute monologue by Harvey Specter, the end of which saw two bulky, armed men scuttling out of the door as fast as their feet could carry them.

"Umm.. What just happened?" Mike asked in a dazed voice.

"I saved your ass! That's what happened!" Harvey looked around the place distastefully while Trevor searched for appropriate words. "How did you do that?" he asked wondering if he should have begun with a thank you.

"What you guys witnessed was a Specter-special. Now if we are done with this funny business, I am taking you out to dinner. Let's get out of this obnoxious place."

At first Mike didn't realize he was being spoken to. By the time he did Harvey was already heading towards the door.

"God Mike! Where do you find such specimen?! Not that I'm complaining," laughed Trevor earning himself a stern look from Mike.

"Okay I know it is too soon for jokes. I promise Mike I will keep out of trouble for a really long time now."

Mike rolled his eyes and they got up to leave. "Enjoy your date" smiled Trevor clearly enjoying his new found freedom.

As Mike walked towards Harvey's car he had a funny feeling that the man at the driver's seat was checking him out. He must have conveyed his approval or disapproval to Harvey because both men were laughing at something when he got in.

"Ray here thinks that your boyfriend hit a jackpot with you."

"Trevor isn't my boyfriend but thank you for the compliment. Now would you mind explaining why the hell you poked your nose in my business?" He looked accusingly at Harvey.

"What? Is that a thank you?" asked Harvey sarcastically.

"No it isn't. Because now Trevor will think that no trouble is big enough for him to quit dealing."

"Are you implying that you set the whole thing up to trick your friend?" Harvey was surprised and mildly annoyed. His biggest strength lay in reading people and if Mike continued to surprise him like this he would soon find himself doubting his talent. "Is this how you live your life every day? Can you not do a single thing without a hidden motive? This is so annoying Mike!"

"You are just mad because your 'Specter Special' went to waste," laughed Mike.

"It wasn't a waste, not to your friend..

Ray smiled to himself as their banter continued. He directed the wheels to Harvey's favorite restaurant without waiting for instructions. After all it wasn't often that Harvey got to enjoy conversations that he could not entirely own.

Harvey's choice of place seemed just as classy and perfect as the man himself, with the perfect lighting, perfect decibel of background music, just the right amount of fragrance wafting through the air. Mike was having a wonderful time. This had made it to the top ten evenings of his life and probably the only one where he could be completely himself. No pretenses, no fake laughter, no forced concern. He loved how effortless was the flow of conversation. They shared funny stories, mostly professional, spoke about their passion for law and pulled each others' leg from time to time. Mike did not understand why Harvey had shown such interest in him but he knew that he would readily accept the offer of a second date, even if it increased his chances of getting fired by Travis Tanner.

Many light hearted and interesting conversations later the duo was relaxing in the roof-top lounge in comfortable silence. Harvey had just recognized the soft music playing as one of his dad's compositions and had closed his eyes letting the chords touch his soul.

"What are you thinking?" asked Mike softly.

"About how I wish I had not slept through the long hours my dad tried to discuss his music with me."

He still had his eyes closed but his face broke into a soft and sad smile.

"I developed a taste in his music very late, after he passed away," he continued, "It would have been nice to know what went on in his mind when he composed certain pieces."

"Well that's easy to guess," said Mike enthusiastically, "Have you never tried it before. Trying to guess the inspiration behind a song or a book or a.."

"How do you know if you are guessing right?"

"You don't. That's the fun of it."

"Oh Mike you are such a kid!" laughed Harvey. "How you survive in the corporate world masking this innocence is beyond me!"

His comment made Mike realize how he had let his guards down in front of Harvey. He had not felt the need of saying something smart and or promoting his genius to be accepted in the world this evening. How much he had missed this! Silence dawn on them again and while Harvey continued to enjoy the music Mike thought about the eventful evening he had had. The scene in the clubhouse had reminded him of a fond childhood memory. He was seven and was being bullied by a twelve year old in the park. The big bully had a big dog that kept salivating at the sight of Mike. His father had come along when he heard Mike crying and given the boy a mindful. A comforting feeling of security had swelled inside him back then and he did not want that feeling to leave him ever. It had left him quite unceremoniously, four years later, along with his parents.

That memory held the key to why Mike yearned for security in all his relationships, why he needed his men to be protective of him and why it had never worked out with Trevor who was too busy screwing up his own life from time to time. Seeing Harvey Specter deal with the armed men in the clubhouse had given rise to that familiar soothing feeling in his chest. Even though the men weren't real goons, Mike was floored by the confidence and daring shown by Harvey who of course had no idea of his ploy.

"Now what are _you_ thinking?" asked Harvey bringing Mike out of his reverie.

"Umm.. I.. I was thinking about my dad too. So what was it that you wanted to tell me at the bus-stop in the morning?" asked Mike in his haste to change the subject.

"Oh you remember!" exclaimed Harvey as he sat up a little. This was an important conversation.

"I hardly ever forget a thing Harvey."

"I know. Which is exactly why I am about to make this offer to you."

"What?"

"I want you to work for me. Leave Tanner. Come to me. I will pay you twice of what you make working for Tanner."

"Why?" asked Mike, his voice unreadable.

"What do you mean why? I like the way you work, the way your mind works. You can be an asset to my firm."

"Harvey you know how it works with me. Either you tell me the whole truth or don't say anything at all."

Harvey stared at him for a moment before sighing, "Fine. I want to make name partner but before that I need to prove some things to my mentor. One of those things is forging capable individuals for the future of the firm. I don't think I have the time or the inclination to mentor someone but if I have to pretend then.."

"Wait you mean to say you will pretend to be my mentor but not actually be my mentor?"

"Either way you are going to learn a lot. That's the thing about Pearson Hardman. Even the secretaries learn law by just patrolling the corridors."

Mike didn't answer and Harvey grew impatient.

"Look Mike you are a bright kid. You fooled me, and my corporate spy and god knows how many times you have done that to Tanner when you assisted the other side. I can make use of your smartness and you will get to learn like never before. Think and let me know," said Harvey as he motioned the waiter for the bill.

Mike's insides started ridiculing him. How could he be so naive again? What he had come to think of as a date was in reality a business meet. Hadn't he realized early in his life that anyone he ever met would only want to make use of him _?_ That he would always be an _asset_ to them? Why then did he repeat the same mistake again and again? He mentally reprimanded himself for letting his emotions get the better of him. When he spoke again he was the Mike who was smart and opportunistic, who knew better than to think of the world as a compassionate ground, who was determined to make it big beating all odds and make use of every opportunity that came his way, every Travis Tanner or Harvey Specter whom he impressed with his skills.

"I will think about it. Thank you for the dinner." he said in a business-like tone, a fake smile plastered on his face.

"Where are you going? Ray will drop you to your place," said Harvey.

"No thank you. I would rather go on my own. I will revert to you soon." With this he left the restaurant thanking the universe for bringing him back to reality early, much before he could lose his heart completely to Harvey Specter.

Harvey wasn't surprised at Mike's curt departure. He hadn't expected Mike to readily accept his offer. After all Mike had only known him for a couple of days. He was bound to feel some loyalty towards Tanner even if he did not agree with his style of working and loyalty was a likable quality. He hoped that Mike would revert soon, and revert with a Yes!

* * *

 **Hi all my wonderful readers! :D A big thank you to all of you who favorited/followed this story. Please let me know how you like the story so far in your comments. Constructive feedback is most welcome :)**

 **P.S. I recently moved to a new city with a new job and settling down seems to be taking a long time. Hence the delay in updating. I promise to try and update faster.**


	5. Chapter 5

There was a funny scene going on in Harvey's office, but then again it happened every time Harvey and Louis went up against each other. In fact it had happened so often in the past few days that Donna was bored of it already. She continued to eavesdrop out of sheer habit.

"The point of this mock trial was to teach the associates the specifics of the law, not to display your arrogance and misplaced sense of confidence!" stormed Louis stamping his feet like someone who was about to pass out from anger.

"Do you have to act like a baby every time you lose an in-house trial?!" retorted Harvey going over his calendar. He could allow Louis to amuse him for another hour before he had to go see a client.

"You know Harvey all you did today was prove yourself to be a self-obsessed lawyer. If you had stuck to the plan we could have displayed great strategies that the associates could learn from even without going to a real trial. But you had to improvise last minute!"

"What's the big deal? I hit upon a better idea. If they are smart enough, they learnt the importance of spontaneous strategizing. Don't you see that?"

"No I don't" said Louis through gritted teeth, "And neither does Jessica."

"He is right." said Donna in a singing voice as soon as Louis padded out of his office. "You didn't quite exhibit your mentoring skills today! You may have just pushed being named partner further than you think."

"Donna I am going to make partner in 6 months!"

Donna fluttered her eyelashes in confusion.

"What? You think it's too much time or too little?" asked Harvey flashing a smile.

"Too little of course. This is Jessica we are talking about. She has trained you, she knows you in and out. If she feels you aren't ready you cannot change her mind in 6 months' time. Do you even have a plan?"

"I hired a guy."

Donna burst out laughing. "Wow! Yes that was a master stroke! So this guy is from Harvard?"

"I don't know."

"Harvey!"

"Donna stop criticizing my strategy. Go get yourself your special coffee and then come back and be supportive."

Donna went for coffee and was back at lightening speed.

"Haha looks like someone is excited to be in on my plan."

"No Harvey, I'm just getting involved to make sure you don't do anything stupid." she said making herself comfortable on the chair. "So when is this guy joining us?"

"That.. we are about to find out," said Harvey as he dialed Mike Ross.

* * *

"Who the hell you think you are?" screamed a voice on the other end. Mike realized that he had crashed on the sofa again and what he had mistaken for his alarm was a call from someone who seemed to be pretty mad at him.

"It's been two weeks! If you want to reject my offer do it like a man! If you think I will be awaiting your response forever then you are wrong! That's not what Harvey Specter does. You think just because I pursued you…"

Mike sighed rubbing the sleepiness out if his eyes. For a split second he enjoyed being screamed at, it was a relief from the quiet of his exhausted mind.

"…I really thought there was something in you but if this is how you wanna play it…!"

"Harvey," Mike finally breathed into the phone. "I would have called.. but.. my grandmother was taken ill.. I.." his voice broke and he decided there was no point in continuing the conversation. He did not care about any job offer at present, not when he had to rush to the hospital to make it in time for the visiting hours.

Meanwhile, Harvey jumped up causing Donna to spill coffee on his table.

"What are you doing, Harvey!?"

"He cut the line. I think I said some mean things at the wrong time."

"Yeah bad timing is one of your finest qualities!" remarked Donna.

"What should I do now?"

"If it were anyone else he would call up again and apologize but since you will never do that Harvey I suggest you do something that shows that you are sorry without you having to spell it out."

* * *

Mike cycled to the hospital as fast as he could. He cursed himself for getting drunk last night but that seemed to be the only sure shot way to keep the fear of losing his Grammy from swallowing him whole. He wondered how late he would have been if Harvey's call hadn't woken him up.

When he reached the ward he was happy to see his Grammy looking much better than before. And a huge bunch of sunflowers by her side.

"Been here four days and found an admirer already!" he smiled as he crushed her into a tight hug.

She patted his hair and kissed his forehead.

"For all I know it is from one of your admirers!" she smiled.

"And how do you know that?"

"Because it says 'To Michael's Grandmother'" she said showing him the card that came with the flowers.

"Now since Trevor calls me Grammy and you have no other friends, should I assume that you have met someone?" she asked with a slight tease in her voice.

"Yes I have. But it's not what you think."

"I am just happy that you have found someone to share your worries with, Michael." she said feeling relieved at the thought of it.

He wanted to tell her that that wasn't the case. He would never share his feelings with anyone, least of all ambitious lawyers looking for opportunities to make use of him but he knew that she always worried about what would happen to him after her and the last thing he wanted was to worry her now.

"He is a lawyer at a different firm. He recently offered me a job."said Mike.

"Then you should take it. He might be good for you."

"And you are saying this based on his choice of flowers?" he laughed, "which was probably chosen by his secretary or one of the hundred odd people he pays to do his bidding." he added bitterly.

"Oh. Seems like he has already managed to hurt you in the short span you have known him."

Mike looked away from her face, surprised at how well she understood him.

"I misinterpreted his gestures, that's all. It wasn't his fault."

"And that's my boy being mature and sensible." she smiled patting his hair again.

After a comforting breakfast with her and a long chat with the doctor on her recovery, Mike started for home.

On his way he took a detour and reached Pearson Hardman. He was awed by the formidable and powerful structure the building had. It probably had millions of hopeful souls gazing up at it everyday and wishing to occupy a space in it, make a career walking down its hallways and board rooms, find love in one of the adjacent cubicles and lead a happy, successful life. But all Mike wanted was to make enough money to pay for his grandmother's retirement home, one that was much more luxurious and comfortable than her current one. He had no intention to stay here anymore than six months. By then he would have enough savings and Travis Tanner would miss him enough to offer him a pay thrice as much as Harvey's offer.

'Yes! This is the plan we stick to.' He reminded himself as if daring his mind to act otherwise. He was still a little mad at himself for being temporarily floored by Harvey. The only way to forgive himself was to make sure that he got a greater deal out of this association than Harvey did.

"I am willing to take up your offer." he said when Harvey came out of the gate to his favorite hot-dog stand.

He was surprised by Mike's sudden appearance but masked it well.

"And what made you come to this quick decision?" he asked sarcastically.

"Bright golden sunflowers" said Mike. He could swear he saw a light tinge of red in Harvey's cheeks and laughed at the embarrassment that his comment had caused the supposedly cold-hearted lawyer.

"Shut up and come back Monday morning. 8 am sharp." snapped Harvey, "I don't know how it works with Tanner but being late to work is not an option with me."

"Okay okay..but that's for Monday morning. Right now we could grab a bite and celebrate our coming together." winked Mike ordering another hot-dog.

As they got to talking resuming their usual banter the day seemed a little more brighter than usual and when sunset came it was a little more beautiful than usual. While Mike attributed it to his Grammy recovering well, Harvey thought it was because he had taken the first step in his strategy to convince Jessica of his efforts to care more for the firm. Mike's grandmother or the man selling hot-dogs would probably have a better judgement on the reason.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note : Thanks for sticking with this story guys. Trust me, I am really trying to fight my writer's block and get into the habit of updating regularly. Please read and review if you like this chapter. I hope to get better with time! :)**

* * *

Mike had worked only a month at Harvey's firm and he felt that his life was changing already. With sleepless nights and scary deadlines, jealous associates and flirty paralegals, high goals and higher expectations, he felt like his life was moving at twice its usual speed. He loved his work and had impressed his mentor even though the latter hardly expressed it. They were a dream team already. In fact, today they had their biggest win since the time Mike joined Pearson Hardman. Both men were thrilled with their win. Harvey, because he knew that Jessica could not ignore this even if she wanted to, and Mike because they had brought justice to a number of business start ups that had the potential to do a lot of social good.

"Are you saying that this win is better than the Frays case?" asked Harvey amused with Mike's childlike enthusiasm as they left the courtroom.

"You just like that case because you got to show off your baseball knowledge" argued Mike. "This on the other hand had to do a lot with… what?" He asked when he caught Harvey laughing.

"Nothing.. it's just the thing you do with your hands when you are explaining something."

"And here I was thinking you were _listening_ to me." Mike pouted and Harvey had a hard time denying how cute he looked. He shrugged the thought away and walked into the lift.

"I do listen. But observing you is so much more fun."

"If that's what every judge thought I would never win a trial in my whole life."

This made Harvey laugh again and he couldn't stop smiling before they reached office.

"You know what?" he said after a while "my favorite would be the Jone's case."

Whatever Mike had been silently musing upon went right out of his head at Harvey's words.

"Uhh okay, ya it makes sense because…"

The Jones case was their third case together. They had tried every strategy to get the whole truth out of their client but all had failed. Harvey, based on his talent of reading people, thought that she would open up to them if they showed some emotion and vulnerability, the roadmap to which made them hit a bar, get drunk and behave like a couple for their client to see. Mike thought it was a stupid idea but Jone had opened up to them the next day.

"…because we got to think out of the box." Harvey finished for Mike who was still searching for words.

They both smiled awkwardly and were relieved to go their separate ways once on the office floor.

The rest of the day tugged on at a slow pace with nothing interesting to do, which suited Mike as he got a lot of other work done, like calling the pharmacy to stock up on his Grammy's medicine, paying the various bills he had to and trying to talk Trevor out of depression over several phone calls. These days he often forgot how difficult his life outside the firm was and that scared him. Working at Pearson Hardman was more than a dream come true. It was fast becoming an escape from the disappointments of his everyday life. He sometimes told himself not to get too attached to his job, or his boss, for that matter. But the thing was that he never got to work under Tanner like he did with Harvey. He got to go all out here, test every bit of knowledge he had and gain more knowledge of the law with every passing day. How could he not get attached to his work?

Harvey didn't mind working with Mike either. In fact it had turned out much better than he had imagined while recruiting him. Mike, who used to think for himself and play his own independent game even while working with Tanner, never hesitated to share his opinions and ideas bluntly with Harvey. At times Harvey was truly amazed by the ideas the kid brought to the table. Moreover, Jessica was impressed with him, which meant that she was impressed with Harvey. After all Mike was _his_ find.

"Oh" Harvey remembered something at the thought of Jessica. "Donna get me Mike", he said through the intercom.

Mike sauntered into his office a minute later and flopped on the sofa with a contented sigh.

"Oh yes do make yourself comfortable." said Harvey.

"What? This is the most comfortable seat in the entire office! My cubicle…"

"I don't want to hear about your cubicle. Jessica wants us to be at a party tonight where we mingle with other senior partners and get to know them better."

Mike grinned ear to ear. "Are you saying that I am a celebrity after the trial that we won today and so Jessica wants me there?"

"No I am saying that I am a bigger celebrity than I was yesterday because of the trial that _I_ won today and so Jessica will not mind my associate attending the party."

"You know what it means", smirked Mike. "Wait is there a dress-code?"

"Ya, beach wear!"

"Harvey!"

"Stop asking stupid questions then!" laughed Harvey. Mike never ceased to amuse him. He shook his head slightly reminding himself to focus.

"Listen you need to keep your eyes and ears open. I want to know what each partner feels, and I mean really feels about the prospect of my name on my door. If someone thinks if it as a nightmare I want to know it, if someone thinks he would rather die than wake up to it, I want to know it.."

"The confidence you have on our popularity is rather charming", teased Mike.

"Come on Mike. Be serious."

"Okay Harvey", said Mike faking seriousness, "I know how important this is to you and I will do my best"

"Good!" said Harvey looking pleased with himself. "Now if you will excuse me, I have a date."

"What? You are not coming with me?"

"What? You are not going with him?"

"Donna! Stop speaking for him!" said Harvey as he passed by his secretary on his way out.

Donna chuckled and turned to offer Mike her sympathies.

"I am sorry puppy but I think you are on your own tonight. Harvey is very particular about his Friday night dates."

"Huh.. there's no date. He's just not showing up because he thinks people will tend to talk about him when he is not around."

Donna raised an eyebrow at Mike and secretly wondered how well he had figured Harvey out in the short span of knowing him.

"Well then I guess it is an entire evening spent learning what the world thinks about Harvey Specter. How bad can it be?" Mike wondered, loud enough to break Donna's train of thought.

"Oh you will be surprised!" said Donna like she was really enjoying this. "Wait here!" she said and left to fetch the suit that Harvey had already arranged for Mike.

After all _his_ find had to look the best he among all.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! I feel so guilty about the long gaps between my updates. Thank you for sticking with this story. Please let me know how you've liked it so far. Much love and happy reading! :)**

The next day, Harvey was more than happy to head to work. He knew that Mike would be waiting for him in his office, probably fidgeting with his tapes and judging his taste in music. He couldn't help but smile as he pictured Mike doing that and replayed it so many times in his mind that he was shocked when he found his office empty.

"Donna!" he shouted "Where the hell his Mike?"

His secretary gave him an amused look from her desk.

"What?" he asked.

"Harvey you sent him to a party last night, a Pearson Hardman Senior Partners' party to be specific, and we both know that if an associate attends one of those there's no way in hell that he makes it to work before noon."

"What are you talking about? He didn't go there to party or stay up all night socializing with the big shots. He went there with an agenda and should have been here early morning with his findings."

"You are adorable when you are stupidly excited about something" smiled Donna.

"And what are you excited about?" asked Jessica as she walked towards them.

"About seeing you, Jessica. You look beautiful for someone who is battling a hangover."

"I am not hungover and you are definitely not excited to see me. Why else would you bail on me like that." She glared at Harvey making it obvious that she wasn't happy with him.

"If I knew you were going to miss me so much…"

"This isn't funny, Harvey!" she snapped, "Why didn't you show up at the party?"

"I thought I sent my substitute."

"Oh and that's the other thing I wanted to talk about, what was Mike Ross doing there?"

"Oh come on Jessica, don't you remember asking me to invite him as well?"

"No I remember telling you that you could 'get him along' if it meant so much to you since you were practically begging to have him there."

"I don't beg," said Harvey in a serious tone. "Besides, my associate has been working very hard. He deserves a break!"

"Oh look at you caring about someone. Never thought I would see this day!" She looked at Donna and they shared a look that annoyed Harvey.

"Why do you guys have to overthink everything?" He shook his head in disapproval.

"Anyway" said Jessica, "I'm not here to talk about last night, there's something else we need to talk about."

"Harvey you are not going to believe what happened….!" Mike blabbered as he came running and almost bumped into Jessica.

"Oh Miss Pearson, I am so sorry" he fumbled awkwardly.

"You should be saying that to me" growled Harvey. "Where have you been? And what is the fake story about you getting late that I am not going to believe?"

"You guys can do this later. I don't have all day to talk to you Harvey," Jessica adopted a professional tone, one that she took on whenever an associate was around.

"It has been brought to my notice that the number of pro-bono cases our firm takes on has reduced drastically as senior partners have started avoiding these cases, and few of them in particular." She raised her brows at Harvey waiting for him to take the hint.

Harvey rolled his eyes and waited for her to continue. "You need to do something about it. Starting with this." She dropped a file at his desk and left his office after giving him a look.

Mike followed her retreating figure clearly in awe of her sheer persona.

"Now if you are done checking out your employer can we get to what you found out?"

"Haha you are my employer Harvey and.."

"Mike."

"What?" Mike smiled and Harvey got the impression that he still wasn't fully sober. He shook his head and sighed.

"Fine. Here you go," said Mike in a singing voice as he waved a sheet of paper in front of Harvey before handing it to him. It had two columns listing the names of partners who liked and detested the idea of Harvey's name on the door. Harvey could swear that few of the names surprised him.

"Henderson hates me. You've put him in the wrong column."

"No he just hates the fact that you don't give him any attention. And Reckins is the one who actually hates you but you won't know that because he talks to you about baseball."

"Are you challenging my ability to read people?"

"No Harvey. I am just saying that you never considered reading them or sparing them a thought until now, which is why you need to forget everything you thought you knew about them and start from scratch."

"Hmm..Good work" said Harvey, smiling a little. "Now that you have proved yourself useful see what you can do with this." He handed Mike the file Jessica had left.

"Umm Harvey" he said shifting a little, "Are we not going to look at it together?"

"No. See what you can do and if there's too much on your plate pass it on to another associate."

"But what if he is not skilled enough to handle this. If Jessica wanted a senior partner to look into this it must mean it is something more complicated than…"

"Mike, you heard me. Pass it on to an associate and get me the file on the Swenson's merger."

"But this could be important."

"What is the matter with you?" shouted Harvey. "Why can't you let this go?"

"Because it bothers me that you can be so ignorant of cases like these. These may mean nothing to you compared to the high paying corporate cases but to someone it may be their life's biggest struggle."

Harvey walked closer to Mike and stared into his eyes. "How dare you talk to me like that." He hadn't raised his voice but it had so much of authority that Mike took a step back.

"You know what, Harvey" he said without breaking eye contact "May be before the other partners you should convince me, why your name should be on the door. " With that he turned and went to his cubicle before Harvey could say anything to stop him.

* * *

Mike worked on all his cases with super speed. He became twice his efficient self when he was disturbed and this was one of those moments.

"Why? Why is he so annoying!" He grumbled as he typed away furiously on his laptop. He didn't want to think about the real reason he was upset and that's because he knew it would upset him further. He had spent an entire evening listening to people talk about Harvey like he had a heart of steel and never cared about anyone or anything. Mike had to fight the urge to argue with them, to tell them that they were all wrong about him. Now that Harvey had an opportunity to challenge their idea of him all he wanted to do was continue playing the same nonchalant and self-absorbed lawyer.

"I wanted those files an hour ago."

Mike looked up to see Harvey leaning against the wall, looking relaxed and bored.

He immediately frowned at him.

"Can you stop being a baby?"

"Can you stop being a.. a.. " he couldn't think of a mean word to say and his expression made Harvey laugh. His eyes became soft and his gaze made Mike feel so warm that he almost forgot why he was mad at him.

Harvey took a chair next to Mike. They had had an intense moment at Harvey's office and yet it didn't seem like Harvey was offended at all.

"Listen Mike, when I was an associate I worked on at least 10 pro-bono cases a month. They kept me grounded. That's what every young lawyer needs, to be grounded in the face of all the glamour and promise of huge success that this profession brings. I don't work on them now unless I feel they cannot be figured out by anyone else because I don't need that grounding as much as them."

"Wow! I had no idea you felt this way. I am so sorry Harvey. I didn't.. I didn't mean to attack you like that," said Mike.

"Then why did you?"

"I don't know."

"You have to be an idiot to not know why you did something."

Mike pouted in mock anger and Harvey laughed again.

"Harvey, you need to tell people what you really feel. They don't know you at all," said Mike hoping that Harvey would listen to him.

"They don't need to know me and I don't need to explain myself to them."

"Then why did you explain yourself to me?"

"I don't know."

"Don't say it," snapped Harvey sensing Mike was about to repeat his own line to him.

"We have to be in court in an hour. Let this go and finish the files you've got there."

Mike knew there was no arguing with Harvey Specter when he was adamant to change the topic. So he sighed and went back to work. On their way back from court he brought up the topic again and much to Harvey's annoyance, Ray took a particularly longer route so that they had ample time to talk about it.

* * *

Jessica Pearson was not someone who could be surprised easily and yet what Harvey had done had surprised her to no end. He had called for a partner's meeting and proposed a plan to increase the no. of pro-bono cases the firm could take up. He suggested including these as a performance criteria for the associates. He also suggested that a senior partner would mentor an associate on the first of such cases to set their attitude and expectations right.

"I had this in my mind all along!" exclaimed Louis. "He stole my idea."

"Louis can you please be a grown up about this?"

"This isn't fair Jessica. He didn't even discuss it with me when he knows I take care of the associates and…"

As Louis went on whining and complaining, Jessica thought about the subtle changes that were beginning to show up in Harvey. She was impressed and wondered how long it would be before he really changed her mind about making him named partner.

She wasn't the only one who was surprised. Donna Paulsen who could predict all of Harvey's moves had not seen this coming either.

"I can't believe you did this Harvey!" she exclaimed.

"I had to impress Jessica. It is important that she sees me doing this kind of thing," said Harvey without looking up from the file he was reading.

"You know what I think? I think it was important to you that Mike Ross sees it."

"Why would that be important to me? Have you seen him? He is already so impressed with me."

"Admit it Harvey, you want that kid to respect you."

"What i want Donna is for you to stop overthinking," said Harvey as he grabbed his coat from the back of his chair and got ready to leave. Ray was waiting outside the building to take Mike and him to their favorite place for dinner. They were celebrating yet another win.


	8. Chapter 8

Not every morning was like this one, one where Harvey acted out of character. Not every morning did he have the time or the will to just stand in his kitchen and stare at an object on the sofa. But this wasn't like any other morning. This was the morning after Mike had crashed at his place after a late night and the object on the sofa was the young man sprawled over the cushions. His limbs lay at weird angles to his body but his long and skinny frame seemed to have found a comfortable fit on the sofa. His hair was a terrible mess spiking at different places on his tiny head. Harvey had never shown any symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder and yet he felt a strong urge to pat the spikes of hair back to their orderly place on his associate's head. He wasn't someone who could be freaked out by a weird urge, so he just stood in the kitchen halfway through making his coffee, fighting it.

As if the desire to caress his hair wasn't weird enough, the sunlight streaming through the curtains highlighted the features of his handsome face making it all the more difficult not to stare at him. Harvey shook his head and concentrated on making coffee. Mike may be handsome but he was still his associate and could only impress him with his work. Yes! But if he weren't his associate and they had just met at a bar or a party without any history…

"NO!" he asserted in his mind, putting a stop to that train of thought. Perhaps he was just going crazy because they were about to get involved in a case about assets distribution after a divorce. Divorce cases did that to him. He hated them and avoided them. At times when he couldn't avoid them his mind desperately looked for distractions and this morning it seemed to have chosen Mike Ross. He wished that Jessica hadn't personally asked him to look into this case. She was testing him and he knew it. He sighed and went to wake up Mike. Watching him sleep had troubled his mind enough already.

* * *

Mike was still drowsy as they left for work in Harvey's car. Usually when he rode his bike he would be in a lot of pressure to be alert and that would keep him awake. Now that he was being driven to work by Ray he could take the liberty of comfortably closing his eyes every now and then.

"Oh when am I gonna have enough money to own a car and a chauffeur?!" he slurred sleepily.

"Is that a general question thrown to the universe or are you asking me?" Even with his eyes closed Mike could sense Harvey's smirk.

"Universe." he replied.

"Then let's talk about why you would need a chauffeur when you own a car, you know, given that you'll have to sell your organs to buy the latter. The universe wants to know why you would want that additional expense."

"I don't know Harvey, why do you have Ray?"

"Not because I am afraid to drive."

"It's because he is bad at it", said Ray and Mike and him laughed together which offended Harvey beyond limits.

"Excuse me? Are you both kidding me? Do you know me at all?!"

Mike and Ray laughed all the way to the office teasing Harvey like no one else would ever dare to.

* * *

Harvey left to meet the client with Jessica once they reached their destination and Mike sauntered to Donna's desk. Apparently Mr. Shaw had called Jessica ten times already as he was feeling restless but he had calmed down once he heard that Harvey was on his way.

Mike had often been amazed with the effect Harvey had on his clients. He could tell that none of them truly believed in his potential of caring for them and yet they seemed to trust him with their businesses, their dream projects, their future and at times, though very rare, with the welfare of their families. Harvey rarely got interested and involved in family dispute related cases. He said that divorce cases or brothers fighting over business stakes were a huge waste of time for corporate lawyers but Mike had a feeling that there was more to it. This was confirmed when Harvey most reluctantly took up this case for Mr. Shaw. Jessica had asked him to look into it a week ago and Harvey had been delaying it ever since, until this morning. It seemed like he had forced himself to stop procrastinating and wanted to get done with the case as fast as he could.

"Donna?"

"No Mike."

"But I didn't even ask anything!"

"Yes you just did. And the answer is that it's none of your business," said Donna without shifting her gaze from her computer screen.

"I just wanted to know how old is Mr. Shaw," asked Mike innocently.

This confused Donna and she looked up to see Mike smiling.

"If you won't answer then you better listen to my theory. I think he's close to 80 and that makes me think that he's a really old client of Jessica's and Harvey took this case because she cannot say no to an old client. And that makes me wonder why does he not take up cases like this for the new ones? Or let me rephrase it as what exactly happened that he stopped taking cases like these and how do you think this one is going to play on his psyche?"

"How can you talk so much without pausing for a breath?" laughed Donna, "And I answered your question when I told you that it's none of your business." She stressed on the last five words as if giving Mike the last chance to let it go. In her mind though she was thinking about how adorably curious Mike had been about Harvey and his ways ever since he had joined the firm. She usually enjoyed divulging Harvey-Specter-facts to him and laughing at his reactions to them but this time it was personal and only Harvey had the right to decide whether he wanted to share it with Mike or not.

"Do you really think you can do anything about it if you knew?" she asked in a softer tone when Mike showed no sign of leaving her desk.

"No, I wouldn't, even if I could. But one should understand his boss to the fullest if he wants to work for him the best way possible."

"And do you understand that I don't like you wasting work time trying to get my secretary to talk about me?!" The voice made Mike jump and Donna burst out laughing.

"Says the man who set spies on me!" exclaimed Mike, "And it was indeed a waste of work time as she wouldn't tell me anything."

"Well what did you expect?" asked Harvey giving Donna a look of appreciation.

Mike rolled his eyes. "So how was the meeting with Mr. Shaw?" he asked.

"His son and daughter-in-law split up last month and it was a very public affair. He ousted her from their family business that she was a part of.."

"And let me guess, she got in touch with a lawyer and has come back for her share."

"No Mike she has come back for all of it, and _I_ need to stop her."

"I ?" asked Mike confused with the way Harvey stressed on it.

"This case doesn't require two lawyers, Mike."

"I am sorry what?"

Mike was surprised. This was the first time Harvey was telling him to stay away from a case that he was working on. Why?

"Don't you have crazy work piling up that you need to do for Louis?" asked Harvey.

"Stop trying to make it sound like this is for my benefit. I will not be part of this case if that is what you want." said Mike and left feeling dejected.

"God he is such a kid!"

"And so are you, Harvey" said Donna accusingly, "You're freaked out by his curiosity and are pushing him away so that he doesn't see you get affected by this case in case that happens."

She went back to work before without waiting for a reply, clearly demonstrating her disapproval with his choice of action. Why are men like that? Why can't they let others see their vulnerable side? She hoped he would get done with this case soon.

* * *

Mike didn't realize that it was 11 pm already. He had been quietly working on the briefs for Louis, not wanting to interact with the other associates. He knew that they were all wondering why he has in his cubicle all day and not frequenting his boss's office. He packed his satchel and contemplated going to Harvey's office before he left. Chances were that both he and Donna would have left already. His instinct told him that he should check nevertheless.

He was few steps away from Harvey's office when he heard his voice. Harvey had never sounded so angry before. He quickened his pace to see what was happening. Donna's desk was empty but Harvey was in his office, seething with rage and shouting at someone on the phone.

"I DON'T care what your reasons were! YOU CHEATED.. You cheated on her.. and then you had your father oust her from the Company!.. What do you mean whose side am I on? If I had a choice I wouldn't be talking to you right now...

...I offered her a deal and we are settling on it.. There's no more negotiation that I can do on your behalf!"

He tossed his cell phone on the sofa and stared at his with disgust.

"Harvey? Are you okay?" asked Mike treading carefully. He had been silent, rooted on his spot outside the office door waiting for the call to end.

"What are you still doing here? Didn't I ask you to finish all pending work and then head home?" Harvey asked annoyed.

"I.. I was..."

"Why can't you for once listen to me?!" he snapped, venting out some of the frustration that had built up within him.

He closed his eyes and sat down with his head in his palms. "Now is not a good time, Mike. Let's talk in the morning. Just leave me alone right now."

He heard the door close a second later and suddenly felt alone. Like he had felt all those years ago. And now this feeling was beginning to haunt him again, till he felt a firm hand on his shoulder and a presence next to him.

Of course he hadn't listened.


End file.
